Systemic allergic contact dermatitis due to consumption of raw shiitake mushroom.

Shiitake (Lentinus edodes) is a mushroom that is very popular in Asian cuisine. After ingestion of the raw fungus, dermatitis may occur in rare cases, and is commonly assumed to be a toxic reaction. We report a 52-year-old man who developed a generalized pruritic papulovesicular eruption 2 weeks after daily consumption of uncooked shiitake mushrooms.

Efficacy of recombinant birch pollen vaccine for the treatment of birch-allergic rhinoconjunctivitis.

Background: Recombinant DNA technology has the potential to produce allergen-specific immunotherapy vaccines with defined composition.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a new recombinant birch pollen allergen vaccine in patients with birch pollen allergy.

Methods: A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was undertaken to compare the following 3 vaccines in 134 adults with birch pollen allergy: recombinant birch pollen allergen vaccine (rBet v 1a), licensed birch pollen extract, natural purified birch pollen allergen (nBet v 1), and placebo.

Allergy testing: the role of recombinant allergens.

Currently, diagnosis of type I allergy is performed using crude allergen extracts, which allow the identification of the allergen-containing source responsible for type I allergic symptoms (e.g., allergic rhino-conjunctivitis, asthma) but not the disease-eliciting molecules.